Bentley also said he will pursue voter approval to change how state budgets work by seeking to move some state dollars that go to schools and instead use them to help pay the costs of prisons and some hospitals.

For years, Alabama has by law set aside a group of taxes that can only be spent for school needs. It's likely that any attempt to shift those dollars would face a stiff challenge in the Legislature, which would first have to approve the change before the issues went before voters.

On the proposes bond issue, the governor said too many bridges and roads are in need of repair, work the state has for too long put off.